


Remove The Dark - Frerard

by Costakostya



Category: Frank Iero - Fandom, Frank Iero and the Patience, Gerard Way - Fandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe, Frerard, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-26
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2019-08-22 17:06:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16602074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Costakostya/pseuds/Costakostya
Summary: 21 year-old Frank Iero lived a regular, mediocre life in his studio apartment in New Jersey. He knew how to play guitar and he knew that he had a crush on the guy he saw around town a lot.After gathering together all course he had, he signed up for the local bandslam - held in a local bar - to perform the song his crush had inspired.Unknowingly, the crush had helped him a lot. He helped him get over his ex-girlfriend who broke his heart without too much damage and he helped him kick off his songwriting a tiny bit.And boy, was Frank happy to see the dyed black head of hair in the audience on the night of the bandslam.





	1. Chapter 1

I smile as I hear the intro of a song I wrote for someone I love deeply. It's called "be my baby", and as my eyes scan the audience, I freeze when I see him. The one I wrote it for. His back is turned towards me. I know nothing about him. The only thing I know is that he has these amazing, sharp hazel eyes. He has dyed black hair. He seems to have gotten a haircut since the last time I saw him... The song has got to the part where the lyrics start, and I sing the words, while strumming the chords on my white Les Paul guitar named "Pansy". I close my eyes and pour my heart in the song, giving it my all.

When the song ends and the next band or artist is announced, I walk off the stage, Pansy hanging over my shoulder by its strap. I walk to the bar to get myself a coke. I wish I chose to walk to the band slam's venue, so I could get a beer. I pay for the drink and take the glass from the bartender with a shy "thank you". As I sip the drink gingerly, I see a shadow walking up towards me from the corner of my eye. "Wow" I thought to myself "this is a really good band..." I make my way to the stage to ask their name as soon as they come off of it, but someone gently touches my shoulder, a touch so gentle it made me stop dead in my tracks. I turn around, just to look into the sharp hazel eyes I'd been seeing months prior. As he clears his throat and introduces himself as Gerard Way, I realise I'd never heard him speak before. A shy smile spreads on my face and I offer him my hand to shake. "I'm Frank Iero. Nice to meet you, Gerard." He takes the hand gladly and pulls me in for a hug immediately.

"I'm sorry," Gerard mumbles, "I'm a hugger. I like hugging attractive people." a slight blush spreads across my face upon hearing his compliment. He then continues. "That was quite a performance you put up on the stage. Did you write that song yourself?" I nod excitedly, happy he likes my music. "Do you mind me asking who you wrote it for?" he then asks, adding a cheeky smile. Well. Shit. 

"Oh you know. Just someone I wish I'd met sooner than I actually did." I reply to him. He gives me a weak smile and turns his head as his name is called. I can't hear what or who it is, but he turns back to me and hurriedly says "My apologies, but I have to go. My brother is very apparently incredibly bored. Can I give you my number?" He asks me while pulling out a sharpie from the pocket of his jeans. I hadn't check his outfit yet, so I skim it quickly. He's wearing black skinny jeans with the occasional rip in it, black worn out converse sneakers, a David Bowie top from the Aladdin Sane era and a washed out black denim jacket with several buttons on it. I nod and stretch my arm so he can write his number on it. When he's done he adds a "xoxo G" and then says "Hit me up when you're bored and want to meet up for a coffee." 

"Will do, Gerard." He winks and walks away. I watch him as he leaves the building, his arm around a boy around my age, probably his younger brother, and I feel Pansy growing heavier on my shoulder. 

It is getting kind of late, I have to work tomorrow and I desperately don't want to be that kind of person that's late on the first day. I make my way to my studio apartment in my crappy car. Once I'm inside, I put Pansy, now safely in its case, in a corner of the room, sit down onto the ratty couch and flip my outdated phone out of my pocket. I add Gerard's phone number as "Gerard xø" and compose a text.

"Heya Gerard, xøfrnk". Send. I wanted to sit around and wait for him to reply, but instead I set my alarm, connected the charger and put my phone on flight mode. I strip down to my boxers, carefully fold what's clean and put whatever is dirty into the laundry bin and make my way to my designated bedroom area. That's the only issue I have with a studio apartment. If the bedroom's a mess, the entire apartment is an absolute mess. As I let myself fall into the bed and pull the duvet up to my chin, I start thinking about tonight's events.


	2. Chapter 2

I wake up to the clear sound of my alarm near my head. I groan and roll over to my side, to my phone. Once the alarm is off, I notice a weak blue flashing light. A message had come in. He replied! I unlocked my phone and. Wow. Several texts from the contact Gerard xø. As I stand up and walk into the living room area, I open the texts one by one. _Hello there, gorgeous. xoxoG_ the first one says. My cheeks get a little warm and I feel that I'm blushing. Would Gerard approach anyone like that? Surely, to greet me like this, it means he's either gay or bisexual, right? From seeing him so often, I know very well he gets along quite well with women. I decide not to think of that as I open the next one. Send at 4am... Who's even up at that time? Well, I guess Gerard is. _Would you want to go out with me sometimes? Maybe catch a movie?_ A smile spreads across my face and I open the next one, received half an hour later. _I mean, I totally get it if you don't. I've been overthinking everything and I totally get it if you'd rather spend your money on a date with a girl._ Wow, bold of him to assume I'm into girls or have female friends. I decide reply to this. _The only person I'd be interested in seeing a movie with, at this second, is you. When are you free?_ And as I hit the send button, the "read" already pops up below it. Wow, Gerard sure is eager for contact. I get a reply quite soon after. _I did mean to ask you one thing_ he sends me, leaving me in the tension of what it might be. I send a few question marks and the question is the answer to the only question I had the past five minutes. _Do you want to make this a date-date? I_ jokingly reply with _Wow, that's gay_ , to which he says _Just like me_ and with a _That makes two of us_ , I put down my phone and make myself a cup of coffee.

After getting dressed in a shirt clear of any possibly political statement (aka it's plain black), my neatest pair of jeans and the shoes that are in best shape, I make my way out the door. I make sure to lock the door well, as I wouldn't want anyone to get their hands on my precious, few belongings with the crime wave that has been hitting this part of town. It's only a block or two to the coffee house, so I walk it. Meanwhile, still texting Gerard. We schedule a just-hanging-out date for tonight at 8 and as I keep telling myself it's just as friends and the voice inside my head tells me for now, I walk into the coffee house.

The coffee house is called Annie's, after the woman who started it. She's the current manager's grandma and Annie herself still likes to drop by every now and then. It's only 7am, but there's already quite a few people inside. Behind the counter is the girl that took my interview and hired me, Emma I believe her name was. She has an industrial piercing in her right ear and a conch in the left. Her dyed black hair is tied back in a tight, high bun and beneath her red apron she's wearing a Queen shirt. Cool, so band merch is allowed here. I walk up to the counter and say hi. She gives me a kind smile, points me towards the red apron and name tag laid out for me and says I came in at just the right time.

\----

As I finish the spaghetti I'd cooked for myself after my shift, I think about Emma and how I think we'd be great friends. We got talking once the rush was over and we have quite a lot in common. As I wish my dishes and think about it some more, my actions and train of thought are disturbed by the ringing of the doorbell. I take the few steps to the door, confused. Gerard's not supposed to come over for another hour. But it is him, nevertheless. He's wearing the same clothes as last night, but his hair has had a wash. He's carrying a heavily packed suitcase and his eyes show slight panic. I let him in the small room and offer him a cup of coffee. He nods, puts the suitcase next to Pansy and sits down on the couch. I hand him the cup and gently as him what's wrong. His eyes fill with tears and only now I see that tears had previously already made their path down his pale face. Nevertheless, he starts talking anyway and I hear how much effort he puts into keeping his voice from breaking. "I.. I told my parents about my sexual preference and my dad just snapped," He says, more whisper than speaking voice. My parents never gave me any backlash and accepted me for who I am. I feel a pang of sorrow in my heart. Sorrow for this boy's relationship with his father.

"Oh Gerard, I'm so sorry to hear that!" I whisper back. I offer out my arms and he gladly takes me in for a hug. He buries his face in the crook of my neck. I can feel the tears have finally escaped his eyes. "How did your mother and brother react?" I ask him gently after I had felt his body ease and release the tension he was holding. "They tried to calm him down. Mikey already knew, as we go out together quite a lot, and mum was very warm and she was crying her eyes out while helping me pack," his voice trails off again a little and I make the hug tighter for just one second to let him know I feel for him. "She even arranged I could go live with her sister for a while, while she sorts dad out." It warmed my heart to know he had a place to go to. "I guess me being kicked out was a thing long time coming, as I'm a 24 year old, living in my parents' basement with an art degree that gets me basically nowhere. I couldn't move out, not even if I wanted to, thanks to my student debt." He sighs sadly and I feel the embrace growing softer.

"You know, Gerard. If living with your aunt ever gets too much, you're always free to sleep over here. I can give you a spare key, I have an air mattress I can put out for you, we can share my bed, whatever you feel comfortable with," I offer him. "But I don't recommend sleeping on my couch. It's a hand-me-down and god knows what happened on there." He chuckles at this and his eyes fill with tears again, only this time they are grateful. "Thank you, Frank. You have no idea what this means to me." And he pulls me in for a tight hug again.

\----

We had one of the most impressive and intense first dates ever. It was good we decided against going to the movies in the morning, because we talked until it was well into the night. We went to bed around 1am, seen as we both had to work in the morning. I learnt a lot about him. On that note, it was a good first date. He's 24, works at the local comic store - which I knew, I'd seen him behind the counter there before -, he's into the same bands as I am, his younger brother Mikey and I are the same age and he likes reading and drawing comics. He was still emotional when we went to lay in bed and as he stayed close to me all through the night, even though the bed was spacious enough to fit three people of our size, I could sometimes feel a small sob escape him. I let him be. He tried to be quiet, which made it obvious he just wanted the closeness of a friendly human and feel what he feels in silence.

A few hours later I wake up. He's finally fallen asleep. I take a few waking seconds to admire the way his hair falls over his face and his lips are parted slightly as a steady, slow breathing escapes them. Boy, is he pretty.


	3. Chapter 3

A wake up to a soft nudge to my shoulder and I'm greeted with a pair of gorgeous hazel eyes peering down at me as I lazily open mine. 

"Good morning" Gerard says. I look him up and down. He's wearing one of the shirts he'd packed and a pair of boxer briefs. I try to ignore the obvious morning situation he's got going on and try to roll onto my back. "You sure you want to go back to sleep?" He says with a voice that's hinting some teasing.

"You'd better get out of bed, or else you're going to be late." He says, as I push myself up on my elbows. I push off my own covers that were hiding my tattoo-covered body. "Wow" I hear Gerard mumble. "Frank... These are amazing... Oh man, this one is wicked," he says with an admiring grin as he runs his hand over the Hope tattoo above my left nipple. "Don't do that please," I tell him. He shrugs and jumps off the bed, bending over to grab some clothes (probably mine, but I could care less) and walks into the bathroom. Before closing the door he asks me "is it okay for me to shower?" 

"Yea, no, go ahead!" I say as I wipe the sleep out of my eyes. I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and stumble into my living room to make myself some coffee. I shout to Gerard if he wants some, too and he replies happily shrieking a "YES". He must love coffee a lot. 

When Gerard was done showering, the coffee was ready, too. I spent the waiting time strumming my Pansy. After finishing our coffees, we make our way to work, walking close together - but not holding hands - and separate after a block. I walk the other one alone, thinking about what tomorrow would bring. Gerard and I both have this weekend off, and he promised to introduce me to one of his friends today or tomorrow. I really hope he's a cool guy, I could use a friend myself. 

\----

I walk home with a slight skip in my steps once my shift is finished. Annie's is an incredibly pleasant place to work and Emma and I have the same taste in music. We talked about it a lot today and we had some small fights about what songs to play next in the shop. I consider her a low-key or a work friend from now on. The sight of my apartment building brings a smile on my face, as does the prospect of getting to spend the next 48 hours with Gerard. 

As I walk in the door, I am welcomed by the smell of lasagne. Gerard just came back up from putting it in the oven.

"Hey, Frank!" He smiles brightly as I walk into the small apartment after kicking off my shoes. "I hope you don't mind I took the liberty of raiding your cupboards and cooking you up some vegetarian lasagne?" I shake my head and tell him it's fine and that I, in fact, am vegetarian. "Oof," his reply is. "It's a good thing I didn't run to the store for some beef like I initially wanted. I promise you now, Frank, I will make you a delicious vegetarian meal each night I spend here." I doubt that he actually will, but I give him a bright smile and tell him I'll hold him onto that.

Once the lasagne is out of the oven, we sit on the couch and flick through the TV channels. I find that Iron Man is on and Gerard gives an indecisive nod of approval, but halfway through, when the meals are long finished, Gerard gets emotional. I ask him what's wrong, but he quickly shrugs it off like nothing and excuses himself to go to the bathroom. 

Once he comes out again, I cautiously ask him for our plans this weekend: to maybe meet his friends. He shrugs and agrees.

"My friends are Mikey and Brad. I can't introduce you to Mikey right now, as he's my brother and I'm not yet allowed back on the premises, but we can go see Brad now?" He asks me. Excitedly, I jump up. 

"Okay, let's go!" and I immediately slip into my shoes and shrug on my jacket, holding his out to him.   
Gerard drags me through all kinds of dark, scary alleys until we reach big, metal gates. I am not liking where we are and I kind of hope we're here to see a grave and not some creepy kid who likes to randomly hang out at cemeteries. Gerard pushes open one of the gates and lets me walk through it. He walks in, too and closes the gate behind him. I follow him until he stops and sits down on the middle of the path, facing a gravestone. He sits in lotus position, props his elbow up on his knee and lays his face in it. He dreamily stares at the inscription. 

"Brad Miller.   
03-27-1990   
04-03-2010"

"H-He killed himself, shortly before my 20th birthday... I sometimes can still vividly remember what he looked like shortly after he did." Gerard suddenly chokes out. Once he's calmed down I start talking. 

"Hey Brad. It's very nice to meet one of Gerard's friends! I'm sure you guys were pretty close and I'd like to thank you for keeping him safe for as long as you could. It's sad I can't meet you in person, but I still owe you one. Big time." Gerard looks up and gives me a sad smile, dried tears on his cheek and a strand of hair plastered to it as well. I can tell from the look in his eyes he's searching for something to say, but instead I give him a hug. When we part, I give him a kiss on his forehead and offer a hand to help him up. I want to get him out of here before he gets emotional again. He decline and says he wants to stay and sit in silence for at least ten more minutes. I sit down beside him and watch his every move, read all his body language. But he seemed to be cool under it all. 

The walk home was quiet and as I unlock the door and open it to let us in, Gerard storms past me, and hurls himself onto the bed. I'm guessing he wants some time alone, so I decide to make us some coffee instead. After a while I sit down on the bed, put his full cup on the bedside table and stroke his hair. He lets out a muffled sob at the touch.  
"Shh," I shush him. "Don't cry. Don't cry, Gerard. Please, calm down. What's wrong, Gee? Tell me." I say the nickname before I even know it and kiss his temple. I whisper "don't cry" in his ear and kiss his temple again. He slightly turns his head and calms down a little. I kiss his eyelid and tell him not to cry again. That's when he fully turns over and snuggles into my side, holding my shirt in his fists, while his knuckles are turning white. His rapid breathing starts to slow down and once it's fully slowed down, he seems to have fallen asleep. I snuggle my head in top of his and fall asleep, too. 

I'm awoken from my nap with a hoarsely voice saying "I deserve to have this friend, I deserve to have this friend" He seems to mumble to himself. "I didn't when I was 19 but I do now" Slightly alarmed, I try to pull him closer to me, but he's not in my arms anymore. I open my eyes and see him looking at me. I yawn and stretch my arms above my head. I sit up too and put my arm lazily around his shoulder. "How was your nap?" 

"Amazing," he smiles shyly. I smile back and plant a kiss on his cheek. He blushes and asks me "did you hear what I was mumbling?"

I don't want to embarrass him and maybe cause him to run off so I say "No, was it important?" he shakes his head and looks down at his hands. I notice the cup that I had sat on the table was now empty. I furrow my brows and turn my head towards him. "I had a sore throat when I woke up" he explains. 

"Wasn't it cold already?" I ask him, amused confusion probably clear on my face.

"Yeah," he laughs a little and fiddles with his fingers in his lap. 

"Hey, Gerard?" He looks up. 

"Yes?" And I lean in to give him a small kiss on his lips. They are soft, yet chapped. He turns red as I look him in the eyes and tell him "you look absolutely amazing tonight" and I jump out of the bed, grab the mug and walk to the sink. "I don't remember pulling the covers over me?" I say as Gerard follows me like a puppy. I put the mugs in the sink and fill two glasses with water. I glance over to the clock. It's 2am. 

"No," he says. "But you looked kind of cold... You'd been asleep for about half an hour longer than me." I look at him with big eyes. 

"You could've just woken me up! I wouldn't have mind. Oh god, you were probably bored to death. No wonder you drank the cold coffee." He laughs. 

"No, I told you I had a sore throat. And I didn't mind it. You are quite animated when you sleep." He laughs awkwardly as he drops himself onto the couch, his shins on the one armrest and his chin, propped up on his elbows, on the other, flat on his stomach. 

"You're pretty short, you know?" He suddenly says, very plainly. I walk over to him, glasses in hand, and sit on his back, causing him to groan.   
"I'm not short," I state. "I'm fun-sized."

"You sure are a fun person" he laughs in reply. 

"Why, thank you, mister Way. To what to I owe this sudden and unexpected compliment?" I say, trying to sound formal. 

"For being such a great friend to me at moments I need you, even though I just know you for a day or two." He chuckles. "Now, can you please go off of my back?" I stand up and let him sit up. I shove a glass of water in his hands and take a seat with my back against an armrest. As I slowly drink my own. Gerard, on the other hand, immediately downs it like it's air. I look at the scene, amused. 

"Are you sure the coffee quenched your thirst like you said it did?" I ask him 

"Nah, I just drink a lot, both coffee and water." He says with a shy smile. 

"What's with all the sudden shy smiles? You don't have to be shy or embarrassed with me around." I state. 

"I guess it just makes me embarrassed that you've seen me like that..." He lies. I chuckle. 

"You liar" 

"I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are. You're a big, big liar." I say, sounding like a toddler. He gasps and puts his glass on the table and I follow his action. I crossed my arms satisfied and looked at his surprised expression.

"Oh mister. You've gone too far this time. I guess I'd have to punish you for this, now." Gerard says. I'm confused by what he would mean with "punishing" but before I could ask him, he pushes me back on the couch, straddles my hips and stars to tickling my sides. I make sporadic moves with my arms and legs in attempted to throw him off, holding back my laughter, but that soon failed and burst out in a laughing fit so hard, hurts my throat. 

"Surrender?" Gerard asks me with a cheeky grin. 

"Never!" I shout, tears running down my face of laughing. 

"Okay, but this is tiring me, so I'm stopping." I fake-pout as he stops tickling me and I try to sit up, but I can't seen he's still straddling my hips. He leans forward, after a while and starts to tickle me again, but as soon as he's close to me, I pull him down, with my hands on the back of his neck. I press his lips against mine and, to my biggest surprise, he kisses me back. We move our lips in sync for a while. Gerard's hands, still resting on my sides, move upwards under my shirt as I deepen the kiss by asking for entrance by licking his bottom lip. He gains me access and out tongues move around each other. My hand go from the back of neck, to his head and I fist his hair, earning a grown from him. Suddenly, we break apart. 

"Frank- I-" Gerard starts. I cut him off. 

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." I mumble in reply. 

"No, no, I don't mind. Absolutely not. But it's just that, erm, I've never done any of this before and, erm, I kind of want to draw you really badly." I looked at him confused. What does he mean? Like comic drawing or as a portrait? And why does he think of that during this heated kiss?

"Why would you want to draw me?"

"Because you look so perfect right now." I blush at his comment, let go of his hair and sit up straight. 

"Draw me like one of your French men." I say teasingly. 

"Maybe later" he shrugs, trying to sound nonchalant. I stand up and close the curtains of the apartment.

"Wouldn't want anyone to enjoy the view of us, huh?" I say, winking at Gerard. He giggles and pulls me in for a hug as I settle myself on the couch again. 

"So," I say. "When would you like to draw me?"

"Right now." he says. He runs around the small studio, getting the equipment he needs to draw from his suitcase. Once he has everything he settles himself on the couch, knees pulled up and a book with a white piece of paper on top of it on his knees. He holds a pencil in his hand and a eraser in the other. He glances over at me and puts the equipment next to him on the couch. He places himself on my lap as he kisses me roughly. I let out a moan and he pulls back with a satisfied grin. "I knew I'd be able to turn you on," he hoarsely whispers in my ear. "Now, pull off your shirt" I do as I'm asked and pull it off, revealing my tattooed chest and arms. He sits back down next to his equipment and picks them up. Once he's drawing me, very concentrated with his tongue slightly sticking cutely through his lips, I notice how he's putting me on the paper. Out of breath, messy hair and no shirt. I reach out my neck to take a glance at the drawing and see he's only drawing the upper half of my body. I sit back down and watch him draw me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Be warned for smut.

After about half an hour, Gerard drops the pencil and looks at the paper that presumably now has my face on it with a satisfied grin. Before showing me, he tells me "Next time, I'll make sure I have the right equipment... This is not my best work and I want to do your beautiful face as much justice as I can." He then turns it around for me to see. I suck in my breath and try my best to hold my pokerface, but damn, this is an incredible piece of art. 

"Would you sign that, please?" I ask him with a calm voice. He furrows his brows as he does what he's asked. After the quick scribble was put in the corner, I snatch it out of his hands with a polite "thank you" and make my way to my bed, where I paste the drawing to my wall.

"Why did you put it up there?" He asks me, still uncertain. 

"Because I don't have a mantlepiece to put it above and that's where stunning art usually goes." I tell him, trying to make him feel as confident as possible about the art he creates. "Can I now put my shirt back on, Gerard?" 

"No." He tells me as he grins from ear to ear. 

"Why n-"I try to object. It's quite chilly. But my protest is cut short as my lips are met with his. His lips feel softer than before, which is - I guess - an aftermath of the previous kiss we'd shared. He presses his full body against mine as our lips move together as one. We both let out a soft moan and we move down to lay on the bed. Gerard creates a little space between us and releases his hands from around my waist to the front of it. He's fiddling with the button of my jeans as I stop his trembling hands.

"Gerard, I don't think we're ready for this yet," I tell him. "You said you've never done anything like this before and I really want your first time having any sexual encounter to be special." His lips meet mine again, but his hands find their way up to my head again. "And I want to know all your soft spots before we do the deed," I add with a cheeky grin.   
"You're a sweetie," he mumbles against my lips. "We've only just met but I honestly have no idea what I did to deserve you." he adds in a dreamy tone. 

"You certainly don't deserve it if you continue to be the great tease you're currently being," I groan, while nodding down, aiming at how my dick was just having full on friction with something and now having none. 

"Anyhow," Gerard says, pushing himself up off the bed and standing in front of me. "I'm going to take a shower." He winks and quickly dashes into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. I lay on my back, stunned, for a second after flying after him and bashing my fist against the door.

"You fucking tease," I growl at him. I can hear him giggle on the other side of the door. I make another frustrated noise and walk to the sink. Passing the mirror between the bathroom door and kitchen area, I run a hand through my dark hair. I take a look at my lip. Would a lip ring maybe suit me? What would Gerard think of it? I walk back to the door. "Gerard?"

"What?" He replies. I can hear the water clattering from his naked body onto the floor. Why is he showering at 3am and what are the neighbours thinking right now?

"Do you know a good hairdresser?" I ask him, running a hand through my hair again, annoyed by how it gets in my eyes when it's not styled. 

"I can cut your hair later today, if you trust me enough?" I always style my hair anyway, fuck ups wouldn't even be noticeable.

"Yeah, that'd work too!" I tell him. "And uh,"

"Yeah?"

"What would you think if I got my lip pierced?" I ask him, scratching my head

"I think that'd be incredibly hot, but you wouldn't be allowed to kiss or give oral for at least six weeks after getting it done," Gerard replied. "I looked into it myself once, and even if I never had a relationship, the prospect of that really put me off and made me decide against it." Damn, boy has done his research.

"I'm going to bed, honey, goodnight!" I tell the door. I hear the hum of something that sounds like a goodnight being returned and bury myself under my covers, nearly fully having turnt against the wall. It had been a physically rough day, thanks to work, and an emotionally rougher one, due to "meeting" Brad. Before I felt or heard Gerard come to bed, I already drifted off into a pleasant sleep. 

\----

I awake to Gerard's arms wrapped around my waist. I'm the little spoon, which I'm good with. It's my preferred spoon side. Looking at the clock above me, I'm guessing it's around 10am in the morning. After the day we had yesterday, I am glad both of us have the weekend off.

I lay there peacefully, Gerard wrapped around me like I'm his favourite childhood plushie, when suddenly a loud ringtone pierces the silence. Gerard groggily wakes up and searches for his phone for a bit. He eventually finds it on the floor and groans upon seeing the caller ID. 

"Why this early, Mike," he groans into the phone. "I don't care that it's nearly 11am. It's Saturday, anything before 2pm is early." I heard a laugh at the other end and some more babbling. "Slow down, bro, try to articulate this time." I smile at grumpy Gerard talking to his clearly excited brother. I can only see his back, but his entire posture suddenly gets a whole new form. "What?!" he happily squeals into the phone. "Thank you so much for calling! Text me the number, please yes. Oh my god, thank you. I love you, bye!" he hangs up the phone - which almost immediately lights up with a text -, throws it onto the pillow and flops onto his back. He has the happiest expression I've seen in the past rollercoaster of days.

"I got it." he whispered, his eyes closed as he smiles happily. "I got the job." I sit up in bed. 

"What job?!" Now I get excited too.

"I got the job, I got the job, I got the job!!!" each line louder than the previous, he sits up again and shakes his head in disbelief. He then stands up and faces me. His torso is naked, as is the lower region. Apart from some briefs. "You, sir," he addresses me. "Are now looking at the new art teacher at the local high school!"

"Holy shit!" I exclaim, doing a weird knee-walk towards him on the bed. I pull him closer to me. "That is amazing! Congratulations!" I pull him even closer, wanting to kiss him, but he goes in for the hug. Instead, I kiss all the skin on his neck and shoulder I can reach. Suddenly, he lets out a moan. I did it. I found his soft spot! It was surprisingly easy to find as well... Overcome with sudden enthusiasm, I nibble, kiss and gently suck the spot, leaving a lightly purple hickey that will be gone the next day. Each movement on the spot earns a louder moan from Gerard. I run one of my hands up and down his back, before it finally finds a resting place on his arse. The other was still placed on the other side of his neck. 

"Happy Saturday," I whisper, as his nails rake my back, probably leaving scratches. Feeling the obvious sexual tension, I pull him onto the bed, on top of me. Gerard has some serious erectile action going on. Once he's comfortable on the bed, we kiss again. It's loving and passionate, but it doesn't take long before it turns into something raw, hungry and needy. I lower my hand, which I had placed on his waist, to his hip and pull his bottom half closer to mine, our erections now indirectly touching through the soft, thin fabric of our briefs. Gerard moans into my mouth as I start palming him and I detach our lips. I move mine to his jawline, going down to his neck, sucking at the skin on his chest and stomach, but not hard enough to leave a mark. I make my way down to the waistline of his briefs and when I look up to meet his gaze and ask him if it's okay, he nods before the words have even left my lips.

I pull down the briefs as he props himself up on his elbows and am greeted by his erection popping up a little bit. I wrap my fingers around it and start moving my hand up and down along his shaft. I keep eye contact while rubbing my thumb over the top, which causes him to throw back his head with a moan. As I lower my mouth to kiss the tip, his head comes back up again and encouraging eyes meet mine as I lick the tip of his dick. His eyes plead for more, and I give in like the sucker I am. When I take his full length into my mouth, he gasps loudly, quickly followed by a deep, raw moan. As I move it out of my mouth again, I swirl my tongue around it. Gerard drops onto his back and his back arches slightly. I make the move again, agonisingly slow and when I go for a third time, a fistful of my hair is grasped and he quickens the pace. The hand I rested onto his hip is clenching to the bone tightly, probably leaving a bruise. The other hand's thumb gently caresses the soft part of his thigh.

His hips start thrusting up in the same rhythm as I move my head. He repeatedly hits the back of my throat with every time he does, he moans like a whore. His body is trembling beneath my hands and he comes into my mouth has he moans my name over and over. I keep going until I've emptied him out and then spit in an empty glass on the floor. I lick my lips and give him a cheeky grin through my heavy eyelids. He lets out a hoarse laugh and mumbles "Damn, my virgin body," quickly followed by a "your mouth and tongue truly are miracle workers." I lay down next to him on the bed, both of us panting at a similar pace. 

"How was that?" I ask him, feeling quite arrogant about my performance.

"That was easily the single most arousing thing I have ever witnessed in my 24 years of being," he replies without missing a beat. "Though you should probably wash your face." I fake a pout.

"Why? Don't you like the sight of your cum on my face?" I pretend to be upset. 

"Obviously I do, but I'm not sure it's entirely sanitary." As it's obvious I can't fight him, I make my way to the bathroom and wash my face. While in there, I decide to take a shower and get the water running. I close the door and shimmy out of my briefs. I figured Gerard had been too shy or exasperated to return the favour and wasn't disappointed.   
As I stand under the hot running water, deciding on what to do with my throbbing boner, the door creaked in its hinges and two cool-to-the-touch arms slip around my waist. Gerard's taller body is wrapped around mine as the water now hits us both. 

"Don't you dare touch yourself in here all alone," he seductively whispers into my ears, voice still husky from his own pleasurable moment. He wraps his hand around my dick and starts pumping gently. I was used to the sensation of my own hand on my dick, but my hands, callused from years of playing guitar, could never match the soft touch of his gentle artist hands. As he quickens his pace, I moan and lean my head back again his shoulder, giving him access to my neck as I pant into the steamy air surrounding us. After I come, Gerard exists the scene as quickly as he entered it and I'm left to clean myself up - which is easy, considering I'm in the shower. 

After showering, I glance at the clock. It's 1pm. I make myself some coffee and slurp it down immediately. 

"Gerard, I'm going somewhere and I'll be back in an hour and a half. See you, baby."

"I'll be at my aunt's, meeting my mum and Mikey when you return," He replies. He gives me a small peck on the lips and I walk out the door. 

After having walked around town, admiring the nature at the park and enjoying the breezy autumn air, I went back to the apartment. I wasn't sure if Gerard had decided to move in with me entirely after last night's events or if this was just temporary. I still had to decide on how I felt about it, but Gerard had now gotten hired for a full time job. Things would fall into place incredibly soon. 

I took about three hours of "me-time", just me with my thoughts and the fresh New Jersey air. 

When I get back, Gerard and I enter the building at the same time.

"Hi baby," I happily greet him. "How was meeting your family?" I was met with a happy smile.

"Incredibly good! They brought me some clothes for work," he held up the bag he was holding "and they just kept going on about how they were already dying to meet you! Even my aunt."

"Well, they won't when they know how I defile the eldest Way brother." I teasingly nudged him in the side and soft the first time in three days, he seemed to be in a steady good mood. This might have just been the aftermath of a blissful morning, but I hoped it was the start of a new era for Gerard. 

A healthy life, a new job. Things will be good for him, I can feel it.


	5. Chapter 5

Just after Mikey had entered the bathroom, the frontdoor gently closed after Gerard entered the studio apartment in his white button up, tie, jeans that (surprisingly) aren't ripped and the white converse he purchased especially for this occasion. I put the glasses I'm holding in the sink and make my way over to him.

"Welcome home," I wrap my arms around his waist and give him a soft peck on his lips. During the embrace I can feel the buckle on the back of his waistcoat came loose once again, as it has every day for the past three days. I offered him to sow it stuck so it'd stay in place, but he declined. "How was your third day teaching, Mr. Way?" I send him a teasing smile.

Happily unaware of his brother's presence in the bathroom, he replies by saying "You only get to call me that in the bedroom, sir." I smirk at the thought of another sexual encounter with this magnificent man. When I want to retort with a comment that's edging on sexual, the bathroom door unlocks and Mikey stepped out.

"I heard that," he grumbles. "You're telling me not to sleep with Alicia after one week, but you're screwing him after two days? Man." He has a slightly amused, but mostly unimpressed look on his face as he walks over to the couch and makes himself comfortable again.

A few minutes of silence follow in which Gerard stares at his brother uncomfortably, Mikey is comfortably scrolling through his Twitter feed and my curious eyes are looking back and forth from them, eagerly taking in the situation.

Finally, Gerard speaks up. "So. I see you two met?" his voice sounds rough, like he actually needed to scratch his throat before speaking. Mikey lets out an amused snort.

"Yeah, auntie said you permanently declined the offer of staying at hers so I thought I'd check in on you, see how things are with the new job."

"Good! Really good. Sorry I haven't been in touch with you as much as I usually am, I've been busy with preparing lessons and maintaining this almost-one-week relationship." He adds the last part proudly. "The kids are incredibly nice to me, but they are still feeling me out, see how much of the school rules I know and if they can get away with making up new ones." He drifts off, thinking about his students and thinking of what to expect from tomorrow's classes. Apparently he's one of two art teachers of a rather large school and each class has art once a week. He has a pretty full schedule, almost constantly teaching from 9 to 4. The first and last classes are always the most difficult, he tells me. Suddenly, he pipes up again. "Mikes, do you want to have a pizza-Friday here this week? You can bring Alicia." I give him a confused look. "Pizza-Friday is when we eat pizza on the couch, watch cheesy romcoms and make snarky comments." he explains.

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" I exclaim excitedly.

"Alright, G-bear." Mikey immediately grabs his phone and texts Alicia to inform her. I make a mental note of the nickname and store it for later use. A few minutes later, we get an affirmative reply. Pizza-Friday is on.

After a few more minutes of talking and getting to know each other, Mikey announces his departure. Gerard's hopping in the shower after having hugged his brother good-bye, to refresh quickly.

As soon as we hear the water running, Mikey starts talking to me. "Frank, I very much appreciate you for being in my brother's life. He seems happier than he has been in a while," he says in an incredibly serious tone. "But he hit a dark spot recently, and he's still recovering from it. I don't doubt you've heard what happened with your father recently. G's incredibly delicate and I'm afraid he'll crack again, soon." He looks very serious, worry clear in his eyes and in the wrinkles on his forehead. "Please, be gentle with him and take good care of him. If you're ever lost, I beg you, contact me." I nod in reply, he gives me a manly bro-hug and we, too, say our good-byes.

The rest of the evening is spent making dinner, making lesson plans and making out. Evening well spent, I can tell you. Though for the rest of the following days, Mikey's words kept echoing through my head.

***

Finally, Friday rolls around.

Gerard comes home from work later than usual, picking up four pizzas on the way here. When he does finally enter, rather clumsily, he's holding four steaming cardboard boxes and wearing a big grin on his face.

Before he came in, I got to know Mikey a little better and he introduced me to his (now official) girlfriend, Alicia. They met at the Starbucks where she works as a barista. She's a cool kid, proper taste in music and a seemingly good match for Mikey.

The pizzas are gone within minutes, all four of us starving after all having had shifts at work and the movie, Legally Blonde, is surprisingly good and empowering. The Way tradition is to make snarky comments all throughout, but Elle working hard to achieve her dreams and then not even wanting the man she worked so hard for anymore was a real power move.

Having Alicia and Mikey over in the studio was incredibly fun, but after this week I just had, I was exhausted and glad to see them leave. Seeing them leave meant that I could strip down to my boxers and crawl into bed. As soon as Gerard returns from walking them to the downstairs frontdoor, he joins me. He has bags under his eyes and looks utterly exhausted. Teaching is hard, but going full time in your first week is just rough. His lips meet mine and I feel the lustful hunger behind them. Any other day, I would take it, but not today.

"Can we please just sleep?" I ask him, actually suppressing a yawn. He gives me a quick peck on the tip of my nose and then my forehead. He quickly pulls back and looks at me, exasperated.

"Frank! You're burning up!" Ah good, now I've seen both Way brother worried. They look the same. I'm quickly tucked into the bed and given some paracetamol and water. He gives me tiny kisses again and again, asking me why I hadn't told him I was ill. To be fair, I get ill so often, I'm used to coping with it and keeping it under the radar. After I've assured him I'm okay, he strips as well and gets comfortable next to me.

When I asked him about it, later that Saturday, he told me he slept heavenly well, but from being awake most of the night due to a headache, I knew that he was awake, too. He was holding me and one of his cool hands was stroking my hair. It wasn't until 3am when he finally fell asleep.

***

Saturday morning I felt a lot better already. When I woke up, the separation curtain around the bed that was usually always open - honestly, I never use it, but it came with the studio and I'm not supposed to alter things that were already there - were drawn shut and I heard some mumbling voices from the living room area. Next to me, a pyjama set neatly folded on the pillow. Gerard's voice was one of the two I heard, the other a woman's. I slipped into the pyjamas and walked out behind the curtain, stretching my back on the way to the sink.

After having downed a glass of water and having my head feel a little clearer, I turn around There's a woman with dark hair and red lipstick sitting across from Gerard. She has a beautiful face, good posture and a slim figure. She shoots upright when she sees me and gives me one of the most polite smiles I've ever seen. "Hi! I'm Lindsey Ballato, Gerard's fellow art teacher." she introduces herself. I give her the nicest smile my sleepy face can muster and introduce myself as well.

After she lets go of my hand, I look over her shoulder and meet Gerard's gaze. "I'm hopping in the shower." I tell him. "Feeling better yet?" He asks me, looking worried again. The terrible night sleep and full-time work week has really taken a toll on his face and the circles beneath his eyes are darker than ever. "Very much, all thanks to your great care." I tell him. I turn to Lindsey again. "It's incredibly nice to meet you."

After this week and last night's fever, a shower has never felt this good before. I hear laughter from the other room and I'm glad to know Gerard gets along so well with his co-worker, but the happy thoughts are quickly droned out by my worry. Business at Annie's isn't what it used to be and the only customers we really get are in the morning rush. It's not enough to keep the business going. And Mikey's warning has been zooming around my brain a lot as well. What if Gerard's job gets the better of him and he gets a burn out or goes dark again already?


End file.
